In Phoenix, a self-driving car operated by Waymo was stopped by a police officer for infringing a traffic signal and inadvertently entering an opposing traffic lane, as per official dispatch logs.
The event occurred on June 19th, yet it was only recently that footage from the officer’s body camera was shared by local reporters, including the Arizona Republic. This footage depicted the autonomous vehicle navigating uncertainly between lanes before halting in a parking area. Interestingly, the video also captures the officer approaching a vehicle with no passengers inside.
According to dispatch notes (presented in capital letters), the autonomous car “EXPERIENCED A MISHAP,” leading to a situation where the police officer was “UNABLE TO EXTEND A CITATION TO A MACHINE,” as per the Arizona Republic’s report.
A representative for Waymo responded to inquiries by TechCrunch, explaining that the vehicle faced “ambiguous signals from ongoing roadwork,” which caused it to mistakenly drive into a vacant lane facing incoming traffic for about half a minute before it was obstructed from returning to the right lane.
“The situation was resolved in roughly a minute, with no passengers on board at the time,” stated the spokesperson.
Waymo, owned by Alphabet, has initiated a voluntary recall of its software on two separate occasions this year following incidents. Additionally, the reliability of its software is currently being examined by federal authorities.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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